Plant Propagation 101

Propagating stem plants in the aquarium is a great method for filling in empty space while saving money. Almost every type of stem plant can be easily propagated allowing the aquarist to increase the number of plants in their tank. Non-stem plants such as amazon swords and jungle val. will auto propagate through the substrate with no additional work required.

The process of plant propagation is simple and easy to do. When stem plants in the aquarium reach the top of the water column you may wish to trim them in order to keep your tank looking neat and presentable. This situation is a great time to not only trim your plants, but to do so in a way that will allow for easy propagation. Cut plants anywhere from halfway to 3/4 of the way from the newest growth. remove a few of the bottom leaves to help promote root growth from these nodes. Press the new plant into the substrate or let them float at the top of your tank for a few days to watch new roots grow.

Plants which propagate naturally though the substrate need no maintenance or trimming to do so. However, we have noticed an increased rate of this auto-propagation when we trim off peripheral leaves.